New York's Alright If You Like Tuberculosis

Yesterday was the final show of the Vans Warped Tour here in Los Angeles and I was lucky enough to be comped a ticket. Of course, I have little to no interest in most of the artists playing, I had not even heard of most of them, but there was the Old School stage... There I caught U.K. Subs, D.O.A., and an amazing set from Fishbone. Yet, after a very weak and ungrateful band from Kansas City with the misfortune of playing after Fishbone I got what I was really looking forward to... FEAR.

While it was in the fallout of the most severe commercialization of punk rock, it was the most punk experience of my life. Lee Ving is as charismatic and acerbic as ever and the crowd was true L.A. hardcore. The whole set was very strong and the highlights, apart from "More Beer" were many of the same highlights as from the below album. They started off with "I Love Living In The City," and had a performance of "Beef Baloney" on par with the classic SNL debacle. Of course, "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones" resonated heavily for me at this point in my life, even as it lacked the saxophone part...

For those who may not be well versed in FEAR, here's a little background: They were one of the original LA hardcore bands formed in the late 70s and bridged the (slight) gap between the Germs, X, Screamers, and Weirdos and likes of Black Flag and T.S.O.L. They were also John Belushi's favorite band (one listen to this and that makes a whole lot of sense) and he would not agree to do the SNL Halloween special in 1981 unless they could be the band. They got to do that and made a mess of their much maligned New York City featuring slam dancers and thousands of dollars worth of damage to the studio. They played "Beef Baloney" and of course "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones" but were cut off mid-song while performing "Let's Have A War." It was definitive punk rock, of course, and Lee Ving has not changed a bit since then... at least not publicly. So get ready to get offended and enjoy...


FEAR - The Record (1982)